Fresh-faced 'Pump Boys and Dinettes' at Metropolis
There are a lot of amazing performers in Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's "Pump Boys and Dinettes." And most of them are so young, cute and talented that you want to go up and pinch their precious cheeks.
But all these twenty-something-looking fresh faces are liabilities when it comes to presenting the reality of "Pump Boys and Dinettes" (well, as real as singing mechanics and waitresses can be in this short and slight 1982 Broadway country-rock revue).
Though little more than piffling trifle, "Pump Boys and Dinettes" really needs an older cast to make you believe that you're watching longtime rural residents working at the filling station and adjoining Double Cupp diner alongside North Carolina's Highway 57. Right now, the cast mostly looks like a bunch of college students working summer jobs.
That said, the cast under Robin M. Hughes' sturdy direction impresses with their amazing ability to practically pull off all the demands of the show as conceived and written by the original 1982 Broadway cast of John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann.
Not only do the performers have to sing the joke-filled twangy-rock score that both celebrates and pokes fun at country music, they also must accompany themselves on a variety of musical instruments and occasionally tap dance to Kristen Gurbach Jacobson's choreography (which they all do with joyous aplomb).
Each of the four "Pump Boys" are great. Jim DeSelm and Kevin Stangler are both "Dukes of Hazzard"-handsome, while Tom Vendafreddo shows he has an overabundance of energy in his big numbers "Serve Yourself" and "Farmer Tan" (both songs about how his attitude and looks attract women). John Summers provides strong support as the silent bassist with the constant hangdog expression.
Tiffany Herlein and Kelli Eileen LaValle get the job done as the baking and waitressing sisters Rhetta and Prudie Cupp, though we don't quite get the familial depth we need when the show suddenly takes a jarringly introspective detour in the song "Sister" (they also miss a lot of the inherent innuendo to be mined from the song "Tips").
Where the talented cast isn't so secure is scoring laughs. The scant song introduction dialogue is breezed through, preventing obvious jokes (like the bit about "eating and getting gas") from being the rip-roarers that they should be.
Yet Metropolis' "Pump Boys and Dinettes" is still very entertaining, but in an "American Idol" sort of way.
Just like those youngsters pouring out their hearts on the popular Fox TV series, the cast is technically proficient navigating through the series of songs that sound like pop song covers. What they largely lack is the life experience to honestly make you believe that they've lived through all the elation and emotions that the characters sing about.
So while the "Pump Boys and Dinettes" cast is great at multi-tasking by singing, dancing, playing their own musical instruments and cracking countrified jokes, they just don't feel like the genuine article of hardworking Carolina folks having some fun.
<p class="factboxheadblack">"Pump Boys and Dinettes"</p> <p class="News">Two and a half stars</p> <p class="News"><b>Location:</b> Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights, (847) 577-2121, metropolisarts.com </p> <p class="News"><b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Thursdays (ending Oct. 29), 8 p.m. Fridays, 7 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays; through Nov. 14</p> <p class="News"><b>Running time: </b>100 minutes with a 15-minute intermission</p> <p class="News"><b>Tickets:</b> $27 to $43</p> <p class="News"><b>Parking:</b> Street parking and nearby garage</p> <p class="News"><b>Rating:</b> For general audiences</p>